Chapter 10
10
ELENA
Unable to stop smiling, Elena stood, hair windswept, whole body invigorated, outside her parents’ house, an unassuming three-bed semi on a quiet road in Bridgwich, thirty minutes away from her home. Her mum and dad were teachers and had met at university in the eighties. As their names were Don and Melanie; it had been a joke amongst their friends that they were the Mancunian version of Hollywood couple Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. Elena’s dad had been thrilled, as a huge fan of Miami Vice , in which Johnson starred. He still dressed the part and opened the door in pleated linen trousers and a navy shirt, loafer-style white slippers with no socks and sporting blow-dried high-lighted hair. The only thing missing was the tan – and the American accent.
‘You look dead freezing, love. Fancy a brew?’ Don opened the door wider and gave Elena a hug. He held out his hand and gave Rory’s a firm shake. ‘Good to meet you, lad. Cool jacket. Reminds me of the one Michael Jackson wore in the “Thriller” video.’
Melanie appeared, wiping her hands on a tea towel. Strangers had often made a point, over the years, of saying how much Elena looked like her mother. The same blue eyes with slight shadows underneath, the nose that raised slightly at the tip, the bow-shaped mouth with the fuller top lip. Melanie smoothed down Elena’s hair and gave her a tight side hug. ‘Come on into the warm, both of you. Rory, take off that jacket before my husband asks you to do the moonwalk.’
Don proceeded to attempt that famous dance move, succeeding only in making Elena grab Rory’s arm and lead him swiftly into the kitchen. A cup of tea later, they sat at the table in the cosy dining room, walls filled with photos from family holidays, golf tournaments and Christmases.
‘Are you sure sushi is okay, El?’ asked Melanie. ‘Happy to rustle up some garlic bread or a bowl of the leek soup I made at the weekend, instead.’
‘I can’t make a fuss, not when we’ve got guests.’ Elena reached forward, picked up a salmon sushi roll. Without studying it, she popped the fish straight into her mouth. The unfamiliar texture almost made her gag, until the freshness of cucumber and avocado cleaned her palate, before the crunch of the fried onion on top hit. Three pairs of eyes stared at her.
‘Well I never,’ said Don. ‘You’ll be joining me for a Guinness later, at this rate.’
‘That’s never going to happen,’ she said and picked up a square of spiced tuna, proud of herself, despite needing to chug back half a glass of water when the chilli set her tastebuds on fire. She hardly had room for apple crumble after the moussaka, but helped herself to a large portion as it was her favourite. That’s why her dad had made it. She drank back her coffee and sighed. ‘Delicious. I’m stuffed.’
‘Me too,’ said Rory and patted his stomach. ‘Was that cinnamon in the crumble topping? And I swear I tasted orange juice in the fruit. ’
Don almost choked on his coffee. ‘You get my daughter eating sushi, when I’ve tried for years, you wear a jacket more eighties than any of mine, and now you suss out my secret ingredients? What’s more, announce them out loud? You’re one brave man.’
‘He is indeed. A bit of an extreme sports expert,’ said Elena. ‘Tell them about your skydiving, Rory. Also, he’s taking me on a bungee jump this weekend coming.’
‘He is?’ chorused Don and Melanie.
‘I am?’ asked Rory and put down his cup.
‘Well, you did challenge me to do one, in the summer – explained how a mate of yours ran a club at that National Trust park near where you used to live, Knutsford way? He said he could fit you in anytime as you helped him set up the website and market his business.’
‘Yes, I challenged Gary as well and you were even more adamant than him that the answer was no – which was saying something, as Gary declared he’d rather give up chocolate forever.’
Melanie exchanged glances with Don. ‘Sounds exciting, love,’ she said in an unsure tone. ‘Scrambling to duck when someone shouts “fore” is about as risky as our sporting endeavours get.’
Rory was grinning. ‘Okay, Swan! Let’s do this! I’ll ring Tim tomorrow. This is very late notice. It depends on the weather forecast though, and he doesn’t run as many jumps at this time of year. But this is ace!’
‘I’ve checked,’ she said. ‘No fog is forecast, no wind either, nor rain!’
Rory rubbed his hands together. ‘Great! You’ll love it. Honestly.’
Elena beamed .
They got to their feet and Rory turned to one of the walls and studied the photos. ‘That’s an incredible view,’ he said, pointing to a mountain range.
‘Scotland 2008,’ said Don. ‘Best whisky I’ve drunk in my life.’
Rory moved to the next shot of a teen Elena and her mum on a big wheel.
‘The Nottingham Goose Fair,’ said Melanie. ‘We went there every year when El was at school. I never got used to the spinning drum ride but, when she was younger, El loved it. She was always such a sensible child, but the fair brought out an impulsive, adventurous side. She’d insist on going on the Ghost Train several times – until she got a bit older and then preferred just to wander through, eating candyfloss.’
A quizzical look on his face, Rory glanced at Elena before pointing to another photo. She was wearing Disney pyjamas, sitting by a Christmas tree. ‘You look as if you’ve come down in the morning to no presents,’ he said and pushed her shoulder.
‘That was… a very difficult Christmas,’ said Don and rubbed the back of his neck. ‘El was only ten. Mel was still in hospital after… a bad accident. Elena insisted we put the photo up, even though she looked unhappy, as her gran was in it too. My mum had moved back to Canada the year before. She didn’t return to England often and flew over to surprise us on Christmas Eve, having heard about… about what happened to Mel.’ He stopped for a moment; gathered himself. Rory gave him a sympathetic glance. ‘We had a family trip booked to see her the following year but… for one reason and another, it didn’t happen.’ Don cleared his throat. He put an arm around Rory’s shoulders. ‘Now, tell me, lad, which team do you support – the blues or the reds?’ Don guided him towards the lounge. ‘Great eyeliner, Rory, by the way. Or guyliner, as it’s called, according to one of the kids at school. You’d think they were being paid to keep me current, the number o f times I get corrected. Only yesterday one kid asked me what my Roman Empire was. And a cheeky lad told me not to have a Menty B when he got something wrong. As for the phrase “rizzing someone up”, a Year Eleven told me to google the meaning…’
Elena would have burst out laughing at that but was lost in the past, staring at the Christmas photo. Dad had travelled to Canada, to see Gran on his own. Elena had refused, point blank, to get on a plane. In hindsight, that had been selfish. If only she could go back in time and fly to Ontario. It was too late now; Gran had passed. She exhaled and became aware of her mum watching her.
‘Come upstairs a minute, love,’ said Melanie. ‘I’ve got something to show you.’ She linked arms with Elena and they went up, into a double bedroom done out in warm pastels. She’d loved coming into her parents’ room as a little girl, sifting through her mum’s jewellery box and Dad’s coin collection. He’d always collected unusual fifty pence pieces. Only last month he’d been thrilled when she brought over a Paddington Bear one that had ended up in her purse. She sat on the bed and Melanie opened the wardrobe. She took out a stunning blazer. It was sage green, with a slate and gold trim on the cuffs and around the bottom, with slate swirls of leaves going up one side and across the back. It was practical too, with pockets and large buttons.
‘I found it in a pop-up shop in Stockport. They had a sale on. It’ll go with those grey trousers you wear to work.’
Elena’s eyes widened. It was… different and nothing like her conservative style. But ‘conservative’ wasn’t a word Elena wanted to embrace any more. ‘Mum! I love it.’ She jumped up to hug Melanie before trying it on, turning from side to side in the mirror. ‘What have I done to deserve this?’
Melanie took her hand and they both sat down on the floral duvet. ‘You haven’t seemed yourself the last month or two. We’re worried, love. You can always talk to us, if… say… there are problems at work? Or?—’
‘I’m fine. Honestly.’ Since her mum’s accident, Elena had always tried oh so hard not to upset her parents. They’d been through enough. She’d taken care over the small things, when she lived at home: being careful not to swear, her mum hated that; or not coming in really late, as Dad would always wait up; or silently gritting her teeth through ailments such as head or earaches. However, her mum had always seemed to see straight through the deceit.
Melanie folded her arms. ‘Don’t make me put my cross-parent voice on.’
No reply.
‘At times, growing up, and into adulthood, you’ve gone through spells like this, and they’ve always taken me and your dad back to 2004, that week before the Christmas that photo was taken, and the months straight afterwards. How?—’
‘You’re right. It’s work. I need to take more time out. Really, there’s nothing to worry about. Also… Rory’s good for me. It’s great having company in the house.’ Saying those words out loud made Elena realise that, actually, they were true.
Melanie stared at her. ‘A bungee-jump does sound… fun?’ Elena went to get up but her mum pulled her back. ‘El. It’s me.’
Elena broke eye contact first. She’d have drunk a hundred pints of Guinness if it meant she could open up to Mum, tell her everything, without her being hurt.
‘We used to have sleepless nights when you were bullied at primary school. Thank goodness the headteacher changed and the new one took our concerns seriously. By the time that photo was taken, you were much happier. That’s why we were surprised… I mean, I know my accident was a shock, but ever si nce then… That’s when you stopped riding the scary rides at the Goose fair and it coincided with when we finally had money enough to fly to Canada – but instead of being excited, you’d become so afraid of the idea of aeroplanes…’
‘I outgrew my lisp. That helped a lot with the bullying. But yes, Mrs Driscott was brilliant. As for the accident, that’s two decades ago now, Mum. I’ll never forget it but…’ Elena put on a brighter tone. ‘We’ve all moved forwards, right?’
Melanie paused and then gave a sigh. ‘Okay. I won’t push you to talk about it, love, but I hope that one day you… you’ll find someone you can talk about it with. It’s like me, when I got together with your dad… Finally it felt safe to tell someone my… big secret.’
Elena shuffled to face her mum.
‘I… I’ve never told you this before, the time never seemed right, and then I wondered if it really mattered. When I was sixteen, I… got pregnant.’
What?
Did Mum keep the baby?
Did Elena have a sibling out there?
And poor Mum. What a shock for her.
Mel’s face flushed. ‘I didn’t even know until I had an early miscarriage. I never told the father; he dumped me after the first time we slept together, having spent ages trying to get me into bed.’
Elena took her hand. ‘That must have been so hard.’
‘I didn’t tell Gran and Grandpa either. They’d have gone mad and given some long speech about how I could have jeopardised my whole academic future.’
Elena hadn’t been Mum’s first pregnancy. And what an ordeal to go through as a teenager – and alone. She took a few minutes to let the news sink in, then tentatively asked questions about the father – who he was, how her mum had met him, and then how she’d managed all on her own, with the miscarriage.
‘Dad proved himself time and time again whilst we dated, being there for me, always supporting me. I trusted him completely,’ said Mel.
It reminded Elena of Gary at work. He’d suffered an eating disorder at a teenager, and now and again binge-eating problems still struck. Elena never knew until he dated Diego. Eventually, Gary opened up to him; said it took a lot of guts because his illness had been dismissed so many times as a teen, him being told that boys didn’t get eating disorders. Same when he was older. What with that and his confusion over his sexuality… it wasn’t until he’d started trusting and confiding in Diego that he became more confident of discussing his past issues with other people.
She hugged her mum tightly. ‘I’m so sorry you went through that. I’m glad you had Dad.’
‘One day you’ll meet someone special too, and open up. What’s more, I think you’ll find that means you’re in love.’
‘Mum!’ said Elena, and she rolled her eyes. ‘ Please! I’m perfectly happy as I am. ’ Elena tilted her head. ‘It can’t have been easy, telling him such a big secret.’
‘No, but what a relief. It made me realise what a burden it had been, not telling a single soul about it.’ Mel rubbed Elena’s arm. ‘Whatever it is, darling, that’s cast a shadow over you when you were ten…’
‘Seriously, do we have to do this?’ Elena got up.
Melanie got to her feet too. ‘There were positives about that time. The doctors had written me off, warned Don that the worst was going to happen. But then, against all the odds, I came back from the brink of death and was rapidly, miraculously, declared out of danger. ’
Elena stared passed her mum’s shoulder.
‘What I’m saying, is… there is always hope, and problems tend to work themselves out. You’ll get through, I’ve no doubt about it, like I – we all – did after that traffic accident. However bad things are, trust in time. Don said the doctors’ faces showed they’d given up, but then bang on midnight something changed. What a transformation. I just came round. They couldn’t work out what had saved me.’
Elena bit the insides of her cheeks, like she used to as a little girl when she worried that pent-up words might tumble out. The doctors might have been baffled, but Elena knew exactly what – or rather who – had saved her mother.